AMA Tasmania commends the Tasmanian government for stepping up to protect young Tasmanians

The Australian Medical Association Tasmanian Branch welcomes the Tasmanian government’s nation-leading vaping reforms that will require a prescription for adults to access the product and ban vapes for under 18-year-olds.

This decisive step is crucial in ending a growing public health crisis, especially among our young and most vulnerable Tasmanians.

AMA Tasmania President Dr Michael Lumsden-Steel said this tough stance would help reduce the widespread availability of vapes by imposing much stricter controls. More importantly, it would ensure that people looking for nicotine cessation support can be guided by general practitioners who are best placed to do this.

We commend Health Minister Guy Barnett and the state government for putting this issue firmly on their agenda and for choosing to listen to the public health experts.

There is no such thing as a safe product that results in the inhalation of nicotine into a person’s lungs, and there is little evidence to show vaping is a successful smoking cessation tool.

What we do know is that without decisive action, the next generation of nicotine addicts has been born courtesy of an aggressive tobacco industry looking to expand its markets.

This decision will help get vapes out of the hands of our kids, resulting in fewer young people taking up vaping and becoming addicted to nicotine.

The AMA is ready to assist in every possible way to ensure we do everything we can against the insidious vaping and tobacco industry.

The AMA has been a leading campaigner for vaping reform for a long time.

We are glad the government has listened to the evidence and the overwhelming advice from public health experts that vapes are shockingly bad for your health.

GPs have been helping patients with nicotine dependence for decades. They are the best placed to support patients quitting smoking and vaping.

We call on all political parties to put aside their political differences and support the government in implementing these crucial arrangements.>>>ENDS